Short Term Predictions and Opportunities
While we recorded several episodes of Season Two before quarantine, the Omnicast has been on hiatus for the duration of the pandemic. We broke our silence for a short, pre-season bonus episode to talk about short-term predictions and opportunities for businesses in light of COVID-19. (Note that this episode was recorded on May 18, 2020. )
No one (including us) truly knows what a post-corona virus world looks like. We tried our hands at forecasting future trends and hope this episode sparks some new ideas and helps get your positive creativity flowing.
Our Short-Term Predictions:
[03:50] PREDICTION 1: Discretionary purchases will be on hold, with the exception of home goods. Even those people who aren’t feeling the economic impact of COVID-19 will slow or stop discretionary purchases in reaction to the recession and in anticipation of a second wave of the pandemic. This includes things like travel, clothes, expensive personal care products, upgrading electronics, etc. The exception to this will be home goods that add to the “one-stop shop” entertainment complex that our houses have become. Examples are plants, gardening equipment, outdoor furniture, small appliances like air fryers.
[07:32] PREDICTION 2: Office space is going to be a luxury and/or headache. The upside is that there will be cheap commercial real estate, while creating a demand for bigger residential homes.
[14:57] PREDICTION 3: The most successful marketing messaging won’t just target consumers desires in the hopes of capturing pent-up demand. Messaging – especially for gathering places like movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, etc. – will have to work to overcome fear and build consumer confidence. The winners will be brands that don’t just talk about cleanliness and sanitation, but those that can do so in a novel way. Humor is tough right now, but if a brand can hit the right note of humor that isn’t tone-deaf, it will be collectively cathartic.
[17:59] PREDICTION 4: Restaurants and bars will also become more of a luxury than something we do 4x a week. This presents an opportunity for in-home delivery services, pick up. Without the need for dining rooms, restaurants may be able to have better profit margins and it may make room for more players.
[23:10] PREDICTION 5: As cleanliness and sanitation grow more precise and more dangerous, those jobs will require higher levels of skill, which should translate into higher wages and higher levels of respect. Because the cost of experiences such as hotel stays are predicated on low wages for less skilled labor, a rise in skill level will translate into a rise in the cost of those experiences.
[24:35] PREDICTION 6: Brand building is going to get really important. For example, how does a new consumer packaged good earn consideration on a grocery shelf when groceries are being ordered on an app and delivered by a stranger.
BONUS PREDICTIONS!
With travelers already expressing that they feel significantly safer in their personal cars than on flights or train trips, drive-market leisure travel will dominate the travel landscape for at least the remainder of 2020 and potentially until a COVID-19 vaccine is discovered. Low gas prices and perception of relative safety will make the road trip the only trip for the vast majority of travelers.
Home services are going to go crazy. Tyler's floors are creaky, and it's driving him nuts. Meanwhile, this is now his office AND his vacation destination AND where his dining happens. Time for an upgrade! Also, more use of the house likely means more potential for plumbing problems and the need for better insulation and maybe soundproofing.
The Omnicast is a sales and marketing podcast for leaders that are ready to grow their businesses, hosted by Tyler Jacobson of Omnifonic Digital Marketing and Susan Barry of Hive. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!